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#995 Watching Someone Work

You got nothin’ but time. You can stand there all day, just watching that sailor clean the deck. Or spend an afternoon with your neck crained watching someone up in the rig. You can’t quite see what they are doing, but whatever it is, it just looks cool.

These are among my favorite people at a festival. They find a particular ship with some action on deck (or not, I’ve seen people just observing an empty deck), find their spot and settle in to watch a little reality, tall ship style. Occasionally there is a question or a comment, but mostly it is watchful silence. Sometimes there is a crowd surge, cameras click, video rolls and then the crowd moves on. But some just want to watch. I used to ask the crew if it bothered them to be considered a “show” but mostly they just appreciated that people were interested in what they were doing. Appreciation? Interest? Awesome.

Have an idea or a story you want to share? Email it to me at erin@sailtraining.org and I’ll add it to the blog with props to you.

One Response to “#995 Watching Someone Work”

Al Kempfsaid

One of the things I love to do when we are at a gathering of tall ships is to get a sail needle and about half a fathom of thread, climb out into the headrig, and make like I am sewing on a sail. Draws a lot of attention and results in some great conversations. When you then invite someone aboard they are awe struck.